This invention relates to a construction for a door or similar structure, and more particularly to what is known in the industry as a divided light door. In such a door, light transmitting panels, usually panes of glass, are mounted in respective ones of a plurality of rectangular openings provided in the door. The door described is to be compared with another type of light door, which might be described as including an enlarged pane of glass with a lattice type overlay on each side serving to impart to the door the appearance of a multiplicity of panes instead of one single pane. For a variety of reasons, a divided light door has been a more popular door than the door just described.
In a divided light door of conventional construction, elongate stile members are fitted against and secured to the ends of transversely extending rail members. The stile and rail members collectively extending about a generally open area which is broken up by horizontally and vertically extending interior frame members which break up this open area into openings to receive the panes of glass. These interior frame members frequently are mounted in such a way that requires that the inner frame members first be pre-assembled and that the stile and rail members then be brought together about the pre-assembled inner frame members. The construction is not one which permits the use of an integrated core panel in the door, such as a core panel formed of veneer layers extending across each other in corner regions of the core panel with these layers being adhesively secured together to impart considerable strength at these corner regions. Because of the integrated nature of the core panel, a door constructed with such a panel has substantial strength and will not sag or otherwise distort over time, with separation, for instance, of stiles and rails in the door as is experienced with conventional doors.
A general object of this invention is to provide an improved divided light door which features a lattice frame which includes a band of material extending about the perimeter of the frame bounding a generally open area. This open area is broken up into panel-receiving openings by elongate inner frame pieces crossed with each other and having ends joined to the band of material. The lattice frame is constructed so as to be fittable within a frame-receiving opening bounded by vertical and horizontally extending expanses of an integrated core panel.
More specifically, it is contemplated that the band of material be made of end-to-end disposed edge band strips having flat outer surfaces disposed generally normal to the plane of the lattice frame. In this way, the frame after being assembled can be moved bodily and with relative lateral shifting into an opening in the core panel which has edge surfaces defining the opening parallelling the surfaces of the edge band strips.
Oak is a commonly used wood in the manufacture of a divided light door. As contemplated by this invention, the integrated core panel may be overlaid with oak veneer, and the lattice frame described be made of interfitted edge band strips and inner frame pieces all prepared from oak. If the edge band strips and inner frame pieces are cut to have a special contouring extending along a side thereof, such can add considerable expense to a door, given the fact that a material such as high quality oak is in short supply. When it is remembered that a door manufacturer might use one thickness of glass in supplying one customer, and another thickness for another customer, and that the contours of specially cut frame pieces will vary depending upon the glass thickness selected, the expense of having special contouring extending along a side is magnified. This is because the door manufacturer is required to store a large inventory which will accommodate different customer selections. In a more specific sense, this invention contemplates a door construction wherein the lattice frame throughout is made of uniformally sized, flat-sided strips crossing each other, and collectively defining panel-receiving openings. Panes are mounted within these openings by molding strips disposed on opposite sides of panes which are separate from and not a part of the main frame members.
It is further contemplated that the inner frame pieces described have ends joined through mortise and tenon joints with the edge band strips which form the band extending about the perimeter of the frame. Further, the frame pieces where they cross each other, are interconnected by an interfitting joint comprising rectangular cutouts and conforming webs in the pieces.